Stitchdown shoe



March 4, 1947. ROSENZWEIG 2,416,847

STITCHDOWN SHOE Filed Nov. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 4,1947. H,C:;.RO ISENZWEIG 2,416,847

SITITCHDOWN SHOE Filed Nov. 25, 1945 v 2 Sheets-Sheet Patented Mar. 4, 1947 UNITED STATE STITCHDOWN snon Henry G. Rosenzweig, Kirkwood, N. Y., assignor to Endicott Johnson Corporation, Endicott, N. 1 a corporation of New York Application November 23, 1945, Serial No. 630,205

12 Claims.

This invention is an improvement in stitchdown shoes, and the principal object thereof is to provide a novel two-sole with either lastedout or lasted-in heel seat, the present application being an improvement upon the shoe disclosed in my U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,312,124, dated February 23, 1943.

In my aforesaid patent a stitchdown shoe was disclosed in which the portion of the heel seat piece, underlying the shank, is interlocked with the middle sole by passing same through a transverse slot in the middle sole adjacent the heel, thereby permitting use of a whole middle sole, or three-quarter middle sole, the loose portion of the heel seat piece not only acting as a support for the arch, but at the same time keeping the middle sole in proper position for thread lasting, preventing the middle sole from shifting to one or the other during said thread lasting.

The principal object of my present invention is to provide a novel stitchdown shoe with lastedin or lasted-out heel seat in which a hard box toe, or safety steel box toe, may be incorporated, the same as used in welt or McKay shoes, which toes cannot ordinarily be used in ordinary stitchdown shoes, the toe giving the shoe a better appearance and adding more wear thereto at a very small added cost.

More specifically my present invention involves the addition of an added toe piece having the same width extension as that of the last bottom and extending from the tip of the toe to the tip line of the vamp; also an extension middle sole, same as that used on regular toe sole stitchdo-wn shoes, except that said sole is provided with a transverse slot at the tip line in which the toe piece is inserted after the shoe is lasted, and before the upper is turned out and stitched to same.

I will explain-the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate one practical embodiment thereof to enable others familiar with the art to adopt and use the same; and will summarize in the claims, the novel features of construction, and novel combination of parts, for which protection is desired.

In said drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my novel stitchdown shoe.

Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the upper applied to a last having the heel seat piece and toe piece applied thereto, and showing the lasted-in portion of the upper in way of the heel seat, the portion of the heel seat piece underlying the shank and toe being left unsecured to the last;

2 and showing the lasted-in portion of the box toe overlying the toe-piece.

Fig. 3 is a plan view similar to Fig. 2, but showtherewith; also showing the rear edge of the toe-piece extending through its related slot in the middle sole.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section on the line 4-4, Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4, but showing an outsole applied to the middle sole.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a full middle sole which may be utilized in my shoe, showing the two slots therein one of which receives the interlocking portion of the heel seat piece and the other receiving the rear end of the toe piece; and showing the thinned or skived portions on the underside of the middle sole, at opposite sides of the slots for accommodating the thickness of the interlocking portion of the heel seat piece.

Fig. '7 is a longitudinal section on the line 'ii, Figure 6.

Fig. 8 is a plan View of a three-quarter middle sole.

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section on the Fi 8.

As shown in Figure 1, the shoe includes an upper I having a middle sole 2, and an outsole 3, the marginal portions of the upper being outturned as at la except in way of the heel seat and secured by stitching S passing through the outtu-rned portion la, the middle sole 2 and the outsole 3, the stitching S extending from the shankportion at one side of the shoe around the toe and terminating at the shank portion at the opposite side of the shoe in the usual manner, the upper being lasted-in in way of the heel seat; and a heel 6 being secured in any desired manner line 8-9,

to the lasted-in heel seat portion.

In making my shoe the upper I is applied to a last L as shown in Figure 2, and a heel seat piece 5 of relatively stiff fibre board or other suitable material is applied over the heel seat, The peripheral portion lb of upper l in way of the heel seat is inturned and lasted-in and secured to the underlying heel seat portion of the heel seat piece 55 by nails 6 or the like passing through the inturned portion lb of the upper and throughthe heel seat piece 5, the nails being clinched in the usual manner, thereby securing the inturned portion of the upper to the heel seat piece 5. The portion 5a of the heel seat piece 5 which underlies the shank is left loose however in this operation; and preferably the peripheral portion la of the upper I extending from the shank around the toe of the shoe and terminating at the opposite side of the shank is left loose as shown in Fig. 2, in the customary manner of making stitchdown shoes, the same being held temporarily by tacks or the like which however are removed before positioning the middle sole on the last. The above construction is disclosed in my aforesaid Patent No. 2,312,124, dated February 23, 1943.

According to my present invention, a toe-piece 1 of width and contour corresponding with-that of the last L and extending from the tip of the toe thereof to the tip line of the vamp is then temporarily secured on the last bottom by tack The lasted-in portion 9a may be secured to the toe-piece 1 by adhesives or the like or may be left unsecured to the toe-piece 7.

The middle sole 2, which may be of full length (as shown in Figs. 6 and '7) or of three-quarter length as shown at 2x (Figs. 8 and 9), is then applied to the last L as shown in Figures 3, 4 and.

5. -In the middle sole 2 adjacent the inner end of the loose portion 5a of heel seat'piece 5 is a transverse slot 2b of width conforming with that of the portion 5a of heel seat piece 5, and preferably the middle sole 2, at opposite sides of slot 2b, is thinned as at 20 (Figures 6 and 7) on its underside, by skiving or the like to allow for the thickness of the interlocking portion 5a of heel seat piece 5 as disclosed in my aforesaid patent.

. In the middle sole 2 adjacent the rear blunted the interlocking of said parts.

pointed portion id of the toe-piece l is a second,

transverse slot 26 of width conforming with that of the portion la of toe-piece I and preferably the middle sole at opposite sides of slot 2e is thinned as at 2] (Figures 6 and 7) by skiving or the like to allow forthe thickness of the interlocking portion 7a of toe-piece I, Also slits 29 are provided at the ends of slot 2e, said slits extending forwardly and inwardly of the last as shown inFigures 3 and 6 to facilitate entry of the portion 7a of toe-piece] into the slot 2e.

In Figs. 8 and 9 a middle-sole 2x of threequarter length is illustrated, the same being provided with the transverse slot 2b with the thin portions Zcyas in Figs. 6 and 7, and the middle sole 2x is similarly provided with the slot 2e with the thin portions 2f similar to the soleshown in Figs. 6 and '7. The three-quarter length sole however terminates adjacent the breast of the heel and preferably has its rear end thinned as at 2y (Figs. 8 and 9) in the usual manner. I I

In assembling the shoe the looseportion 5a of heel seat piece 5 is inserted through slot 2b in therewith, whereby the rear end of toe-piece l underlies the middle sole 2 or .21: rearwardly of slot 2e, said parts 2, 2.1:, and i being temporarily secured to the last L by tack II or the like. Thread lasting results in the row of stitches T (Figure 3) which pass throughthe middle sole 2 and outturned portion la of upper l at the corner formed by the sides of the upper I and the outturned portion la. (Figs. 4 and 5). The thinned or skived portions 20 and 2]- of middle sole 2 or 2:0 adjacent slots 2b and 2e allow for the thickness of the loose portion 5a of heel seat piece 5 adjacent the slot, and allow for the thickness of the loose portion la of toe-piece 1 adjacent slot 2e thereby preventing'unnecessary bulging of the parts, 2, 2x, i, and 5 resulting from As soon as the middle sole 2 or 2:2 has been thus applied the outer sole 3 is then secured to the middle sole 2 or 291: and'outturned'portion id of the upper i in any desired manner such as by the lockstitchingv S (Figures 1 and 5)' passing through The heel 4 is then applied to the'heel seat by; v

nails or otherwise in the usual manner; and the peripheries of the middle sole 2 or 2:0, outersole 3 and outturned portion Ia of the upper I then trimmed to uniform width. v

By the above construction the middle sole 2, or'2a: is thus interlocked with-the loose portions of heel seat piece 5 and toe-piece 1 so as to prevent the middle'sole from shifting laterally on last L during the process of-thread lasting of the 'stitchdown shoe, by'which the row of stitching, T is passed at the corner formed between the sides of the upper l and the outturned portion la of the upper, the threads T passing through the outturned portion of the upper and through the middle sole 2 or 2:0 to secure the middle sole to the'upper I Theabove construction also permits the use of a hard box toe 9, or a steel safety box toe; in a' two-sole stitohdown shoe, the sameas used in welt shoes or McKay shoes, which boxes can not be used in ordinary stitchdown shoes, the box toe giving a better appearance to' the shoe and more wear at very small added cost. By'the above construction the outer portion 5a of heel'seat piece 5 also acts as a shank stiffener for the shoe as well as an, anchor which maintainsthe middle sole 2 or 2min place during thread lasting. The interlocking of the parts 2, 2x, 1 and 5 moreover obviates the use of cement or other extraneous means for securing the loose portionta. of heel seat piece 5 and loose portion 1a of toe-piece 1 to the middle sole 2 or 21s, and

and 9), effecting a material saving in the amount of leather used in the sole of the shoe. Unless my interlocking feature were utilized, it would be necessary to use a full middle sole; otherwise the use of a three-quarter middle solein a lasted-in heel seat stitcholown shoe would result in a very J inferior construction. The use of my interlocking feature, however, while effecting a material saving of the amount of leather used in the middle sole, in fact produces a shoe having a more solid construction than heretofore.'

My invention also is applicable to: stitchdown shoes in which the heel portion of the upper is lasted-out. In this construction no heel piece 5 would be used, but the toe-piece I would be used with a full length or three quarter length middle sole and would function the same as above described in forming a ready support for the hard box toe or steel safety box toe.

In presentday methods for making two-sole stitchdown shoes, the pulling over on the last necessarily has to be disturbed when preparing such shoes for the thread lasting operation which imparts thereto a floating vamp which is very difiicult to control during the thread lasting. In making such two-sole lasted-in heel stitchdown shoes the pulling over is merely temporary without a box toe and only holds the shoe in position on the last until the shoe is heel seat lasted and ready for the application of the middle sole. The pull over tacks are necessarily removed in order to apply the middle sole. After the middle sole is tacked in position on the bottom of the last, the shoe is ready for thread lasting; and the parts being loose the thread laster then puts in the box toe on the vamp and drafts the vamp over the toe using bench pinchers with force in order to apply the stitching around the tip without wrinkling, but in doing this it is very hard for the operator to last a straight tip on the shoe or any trim on the same. In drafting the vamp over the toe it forms a bridge from the cone of the last to the end of the too. The thread laster thus is required to pull one side and stitch, and then pull the other side and stitch, which means that .he has to pull three ways separately, thus making it very hard to produce uniform tips, moccasins, seams or trims which are kept straight.

According to my invention, the shoe is pulled over the last and held in position without being disturbed for the thread lasting operation. In my invention the tip is put in during the pull over operation and is pulled over by a machine and is then toe lasted over the toe piece which holds the vamp in place. The upper is then turned back only to the last bottom so as to last outwardly thus making the thread lasting merely a stitching operation as the operator does not have to use any pinchers. The above thus simplifies the placing of the box toe, gives better lines to the shoe, and also allows the operator to do more uniform work with greater production.

I do not limit my invention to the exact forms shown in the drawings, for obviously changes may be made therein within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. In a stitchdown shoe, an outturned upper; a box toe within the upper having its marg ns turned in; a toe-piece conforming with the width of the box toe and having its sides overlying the inturned margins of the box toe. said toe-piece extending from the t p of the toe to substantially the tip-line of the vamp and having a loose rear end portion; a middle sole provided with a transverse slot adjacent the tip-line of the vamp through which the loose rear end portion of the toe-piece extends thereby interlocking therewith; and means securing the margin of the middle sole to the outturned portion of the upper.

22. In a shoe as set forth in claim 1, the middle sole being thinned at opposite sides of the said slot to allow for the thickness of the toe-piece.

' 3. In a'two-sole stitchdown'shoe, an outturned upper; a box toe within the upper having its mar-l gins turned in; a toe-piece conforming with the width of the box toe and having its sides overlying the inturned margin of the box toe, said toe-piece extending from the tip of the toe to the tip-line of the vamp and having a loose rear end portion; a middle sole provided with a transverse slot adjacent the tip-line of the vamp through which the loose rear end portion of the toe-piece extends thereby interlocking therewith; stitching securing the margin of the middle sole to the outturned portion of the upper; and an outsole secured to the middle sole and the outturned portion of the upper by stitching passing through said parts.

4. In a shoe as set forth in claim 3, the middle sole being thinned at opposite sides of the said slot to allow for the thickness of the toe-piece.

5. In a two-sole stitchdown shoe, an outturned upper with a lasted-in heel seat; a heel seat piece secured to the lasted-in portion of the upper and having a shank underlying the shank of the shoe; a box toe within the upper having the margins turned in; a toe-piece conforming with the width of the box toe and having its sides overlying the inturned margin of the box toe, said toe-piece extending from the tip of the toe to the tip-line of the vamp and having a loose rear end portion; a middle sole provided with a transverse slot adjacent the heel seat through which the shank of the heel seat piece extends, and having a second transverse slot adjacent the tip-line of the vamp through which the loose rear end portion of the toe-piece extends; means securing the margin of the middle sole to the outturned portion of the upper; the front portion of the heel seat piece and the rear end portion of the toepiece underlying and interlocking with the middle sole; and an outsole secured to the middle sole.

6. In a shoe as set forth in claim 5, the middle sole being thinned at opposite sides of the said slots to allow for the thicknesses of the heel piece and toe-piece.

'7. In a shoe as set forth in claim 5, said middle sole being of three-quarter length.

8. In a shoe as set forth in claim 5, said middle sole being of full length.

9. In a two-sole stitchdown shoe, an outturned upper with a lasted-in heel seat; a heel seat piece secured to the lasted-in portion of the upper and having a shank underlying the shank of the shoe; a box toe within the upper having its margins turned in; a toe-piece conforming with the width of the box toe and having its sides overlying the inturned margin of the box toe, said toe-piece extending from the tip of the toe to the tip-line of the vamp and having a loose rear end portion; a middle sole provided with a transverse slot adjacent the heel seat through which the shank of the heel seat piece extends, and having a second transverse slot adiacent the tip-line of the vamp through which the loose rear end portion of the toe-piece extends; stitching securing the margin of the middle sole to the outturned portion of the upper; the front portion of the heel seat piece and the rear end portion of the toepiece underlying and interlocking with the middle sole; and an outsole secured to the middle sole' and. the outturned portion of the upper by stitching passing through said parts.

10. In a shoe as set forth in claim 9, the middle sole being thinned at opposite sides of the said slots to allow for the thicknesses of the heel piece and toe-piece.

7 V 11. Ina shoe as set forth in claim 9, said mid- -v REFERENCES CITED dle sole being of three'quarter length The following references are of record in the 12. In a shoe as set forth in claim 9, said midfile of this patent:

dle sole being'of full length. r v E v 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS HENRY G. ROSENZWEIG. Number Name Date 2,312,124 Rosenzweig Feb. 23, 1943 

